Gentlemen, I would like to share with you my first experience with honing an SR.
I got a Titan SR honed and "tuned" by a local guy a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to get a decent shave out of it since. I wanted to purchase a set of honing gear for a few years and I was finally able to do so. After I couldn't find anyone to hone my razor properly, I wanted to start honing even more.
I spent an ungodly amount of money for a Naniwa 1k, 3k, 5k, 8k, 12k stones and a 240 grit straightening stone and a stone holder. My first big paycheck came and went. All excited, I just started honing after watching a few videos and a little bit of reading. I lapped the stones and started.
On 1k, I wasn't able to get an arm hair cutting edge for hours. X strokes, circles, light and heavy, nothing worked. The bevel didn't have consistent scratchmarks no matter how hard I tried. It passed the sharpie test but it wasn't good enough. First, I couldn't hit the heel properly, then the tip, then the center of the edge. After I realized that my spine wear is getting really serious (it was quite bad since I recieved the razor) I said to myself I'll just work it up to 12k just for the fun of it. I stopped using pressure at this point.
3k, 5k, 8k - I was able to remove the scratches but the edge didn't want to cut. It looked quite nice under my little magnifying glass. That was about it.
12k and stropping on canvas and clean leather - pretty much mirror finnish with some scratches.
What I observed:
- spine wear is troubling me, is there a point when there's just too much of it to set the bevel correctly?
- on the right edge of the stones was accumulating quite a bit of dark discoloration. It didn't want to go away even with lapping. I also put visible scratches on the stones, mainly on the 3k. I used the same side on all of them so I know which one I might have ruined. 1k is heavily discolored with white spots (stone was blue when I started)
- I had trouble hitting the heel so I ended up honing with a few milimeters of the heel just not being in touch with the stone. I think the stabilizer might need to be grinded down.
- One side was consistent through the whole edge, the other side I just wasn't able to get evenly no matter what I tried
- I need lots of training and possibly a new razor...
Shave test:
It did shave. It even tugged less than it did before I attempted to hone it. Still not smooth or close. I shaved one side of my neck with it and on the other side I used a shavette with a Feather blade. Shavette was closer, shaved more easily and comfortably, but gave me more burn from the alum. Even though the Titan didn't get me nowhere close, it didn't irritate me as much as it did before.
Feel free to let me know what you think. I will try again tommorow, from the 1k, possibly with tape.
I got a Titan SR honed and "tuned" by a local guy a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to get a decent shave out of it since. I wanted to purchase a set of honing gear for a few years and I was finally able to do so. After I couldn't find anyone to hone my razor properly, I wanted to start honing even more.
I spent an ungodly amount of money for a Naniwa 1k, 3k, 5k, 8k, 12k stones and a 240 grit straightening stone and a stone holder. My first big paycheck came and went. All excited, I just started honing after watching a few videos and a little bit of reading. I lapped the stones and started.
On 1k, I wasn't able to get an arm hair cutting edge for hours. X strokes, circles, light and heavy, nothing worked. The bevel didn't have consistent scratchmarks no matter how hard I tried. It passed the sharpie test but it wasn't good enough. First, I couldn't hit the heel properly, then the tip, then the center of the edge. After I realized that my spine wear is getting really serious (it was quite bad since I recieved the razor) I said to myself I'll just work it up to 12k just for the fun of it. I stopped using pressure at this point.
3k, 5k, 8k - I was able to remove the scratches but the edge didn't want to cut. It looked quite nice under my little magnifying glass. That was about it.
12k and stropping on canvas and clean leather - pretty much mirror finnish with some scratches.
What I observed:
- spine wear is troubling me, is there a point when there's just too much of it to set the bevel correctly?
- on the right edge of the stones was accumulating quite a bit of dark discoloration. It didn't want to go away even with lapping. I also put visible scratches on the stones, mainly on the 3k. I used the same side on all of them so I know which one I might have ruined. 1k is heavily discolored with white spots (stone was blue when I started)
- I had trouble hitting the heel so I ended up honing with a few milimeters of the heel just not being in touch with the stone. I think the stabilizer might need to be grinded down.
- One side was consistent through the whole edge, the other side I just wasn't able to get evenly no matter what I tried
- I need lots of training and possibly a new razor...
Shave test:
It did shave. It even tugged less than it did before I attempted to hone it. Still not smooth or close. I shaved one side of my neck with it and on the other side I used a shavette with a Feather blade. Shavette was closer, shaved more easily and comfortably, but gave me more burn from the alum. Even though the Titan didn't get me nowhere close, it didn't irritate me as much as it did before.
Feel free to let me know what you think. I will try again tommorow, from the 1k, possibly with tape.